Tidings Magazine

Wine tastings are a dime a dozen but one of the hottest tickets around is the Banée of Oliver. At this annual winery-only banquet, southern Okanagan producers gather for a convivial evening of swapping stories and tasting not just each others’ wines but bottles from around the world.

Land values have been skyrocketing. Vineyard conversions seem to be happening at almost every turn and can be counted by piles of posts awaiting “planting.” It’s obvious that already-warm Oliver is heating up.

Beyond the vineyard, tourist activities, once somewhat lacking, are also picking up. Bellstar’s Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort in nearby Osoyoos is already the south valley’s latest and greatest luxury destination; but a second Bellstar resort, next to downtown Oliver, is about the see the light of day; it will include an interpretive centre and culinary-arts facility intermixed with hotel, spa and shopping. Things are moving fast.

When Oliver declared itself the “wine capital of Canada” in 2003, its claim was based on the fact that the area is the principal supplier of grapes to wineries throughout the province — about 70 percent of total production in fact. (Even celebrated Naramata Bench gets a significant amount of its grapes from here.) Last year, the number of wineries opening up in this very distinct part of the valley climbed rapidly, suggesting Oliver’s local star is also rising. The town had already earned a “Golden Mile” moniker — bestowed in another era for the area’s ability to ripen honeydew melons. The “Mile” is actually ten miles of western slope of alluvial deposit interspersed with sandy benches, which receives morning and midday sun primarily. The opposite east-side bench gets the sun well into late afternoon and evening, and it’s where most of the south valley’s reds are planted. “The geography of the south end is very unique,” says Tinhorn Creek winemaker Sandra Oldfield. “All of us grow grapes here. But you can always find little nuances of your area that are different from the neighbours.”

As time goes on, and as more wineries emerge, those differences may well become more apparent — though, no doubt, the discussion as to what grows best where will continue for a while yet. Oldfield, who chooses to focus on Merlot and Cabernet Franc for her reds, gave up on Cabernet Sauvignon, which she feels (like many others) presents ripening issues. Tinhorn’s strong points are its cool-climate aromatics, such as the Gewürz, that come from the west side of the estate, and Merlot, mainly grown in the east. “We’re not super-big believers that Cabernet Sauvignon is a good grape for the Okanagan,” says Oldfield. (No doubt, Osoyoos Larose and Black Hills Estate might beg to differ.)

One of the newest wineries to stake its claim on the east bench, Le Vieux Pin has set itself some high goals from the outset, choosing to produce only premium-priced wines marketed to a select group of restaurants. Recently opened, the intimate tasting room (by appointment only, with the right Riedel glass for each wine) is framed in copper and stone, in a building styled to look like a French countryside railway station.

Vieux Pin general manager Anthony Burée says the winery was deliberately conceived to fulfil sommeliers’ needs for high-end BC wines — and he is determined to deliver on his promise to make “serious reds.” With that in mind, the winery came into being not following the usual grower-driven model. Says Burée, “If we want to be on the world stage, we need to compete against wines from the rest of the world and not be blinkered by the valley palate.”

Le Vieux Pin will soon be joined by two siblings. Lastella is due to open in 2008 and Selóna the following year. Burée explains that launching just one small premium winery wasn’t viable, so this trio of wineries will share resources while remaining completely autonomous.

Burée would like nothing more than to see some separate sub-appellations. In fact, he already has a name in mind: “Osoyoos Lake District.” He’s also convinced that the southern valley’s best sites for Bordeaux grapes lie on the west side — and not in Black Sage’s sand, which he says is far more reminiscent of the Rhône. “We didn’t buy properties on just one side. We scattered them throughout the valley so we could utilize the flexibility of terroir.”